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====A true Renaissance Man====
Traditionally a man had one vocation and was expected to work at that for the rest of his life, this was emphasized in the guild-system. Brunelleschi was a true Renaissance Man and he was polymath and master of several disciplines. It is generally recognized that the Florentine was a master engineer and an accomplished mathematician. He designed several new types of hoist and construction methods, without which he could never have left such a remarkable legacy of buildings. The Florentine designed lifts and cranes that were centuries ahead of their time.<ref>Millon, p. 119</ref>.
Brunelleschi was also a military engineer and was an early advocate of town planning. He even designed and patented a new type of riverboat. Brunelleschi’s many accomplishments meant that he was in many ways, an early embodiment of the humanist ideal. He demonstrated that an individual could have accomplished many things. His example inspired many others to master several arts and disciplines, including Michelangelo and Leonardo.
====The discovery of Linear Perspective====
Perspective in art is the technique of an illusion of three-dimensions in a picture. It gives a painting depth and a sense of space, even though it is on a two-dimensional surface. The Romans and Greeks had a rudimentary grasp of rudimentary. The Arabs had greatly advanced the science of optics, and their work became available in Latin translations in Italy in the 13th century.
At some point, Brunelleschi working on his own, rediscovered the techniques that allowed him to create a linear perspective. He developed a way of painting or sketching using a single vanishing point. This creates an illusion of three-dimension and space and death because all the lines converge. As a result, objects appear smaller if they seem to withdraw into the distance. This was revolutionary and it means that paintings were more realistic.<ref> Puttfarken, Thomas. The discovery of pictorial composition: Theories of visual order in painting 1400-1800 (Yale University Press, 2000), p. 119</ref>. It allowed, especially painters or illustrators to create more naturalistic renderings of objects and people.
There is some controversy as to the extent of Brunelleschi’s contribution to the rediscovery of linear perspective. It cannot be denied that this artistic technique spread like wildfire throughout Europe. Linear perspective caused a revolution in art and the masterpieces of Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and Caravaggio would be unthinkable. Moreover, a linear perspective was also a way of representing the natural world and even persons. It was a technique that was also used by anatomists, scientists, and naturalists .<ref> Puttfarken, p. 111</ref>.
====Conclusion====
Burckhardt, Jacob. The architecture of the Italian Renaissance. University of Chicago Press, 1987.
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====References====
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[[Category:European History]] [[Category:Italian History]] [[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:Renaissance History]] [[Category:Art History]]